<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<recipeml version="0.5">
  <recipe>
    <head>
      <title>14-Day Sweet Pickles</title>
      <categories>
        <cat>Pickles</cat>
        <cat>Canning</cat></categories>
      <yield>1</yield></head>
    <ingredients>
      <ing>
        <amt>
          <qty>4</qty>
          <unit>pounds</unit></amt>
        <item>Of pickling cucumbers* (2- to 5-inch)</item></ing>
      <ing>
        <amt>
          <qty>3/4</qty>
          <unit>cups</unit></amt>
        <item>Canning or pickling salt (Separated in thirds)</item></ing>
      <ing>
        <amt>
          <qty>2</qty>
          <unit>teaspoons</unit></amt>
        <item>Celery seed</item></ing>
      <ing>
        <amt>
          <qty>2</qty>
          <unit>tablespoons</unit></amt>
        <item>Mixed pickling spices</item></ing>
      <ing>
        <amt>
          <qty>5 1/2</qty>
          <unit>cups</unit></amt>
        <item>Sugar</item></ing>
      <ing>
        <amt>
          <qty>4</qty>
          <unit>cups</unit></amt>
        <item>Vinegar (5 percent)</item></ing></ingredients>
    <directions>
      <step>  *(If packed whole, use cucumbers of uniform size)
  
  Can be canned whole, in strips, or in slices.
  
  Yield: About 5 to 9 pints
  
  Procedure: Wash cucumbers. Cut 1/16-inch slice off blossom end and discard,
  but leave 1/4-inch of stem attached. Place whole cucumbers in suitable
  1-gallon container. Add 1/4 cup canning or pickling salt to 2 quarts water
  and bring to a boil. Pour over cucumbers. Add suitable cover and weight.
  Place clean towel over container and keep the temperature at about 70
  degrees F.
  
  On the third and fifth days, drain salt water and discard. Rinse cucumbers
  and rescald cover and weight. Return cucumbers to container. Add 1/4 cup
  salt to 2 quarts fresh water and boil. Pour over cucumbers. Replace cover
  and weight, and re-cover with clean towel. On the seventh day, drain salt
  water and discard. Rinse cucumbers and rescald containers, cover, and
  weight. Slice or strip cucumbers, if desired, and return to container.
  Place celery seed and pickling spices in small cheesecloth bag. Combine 2
  cups sugar and 4 cups vinegar in a saucepan. Add spice bag, bring to a boil
  and pour pickling solution over cucumbers. Add cover and weight, and
  re-cover with clean towel.
  
  On each of the next six days, drain syrup and spice bag and save. Add 1/2
  cup sugar each day and bring to a boil in a saucepan. Remove cucumbers and
  rinse. Scald container, cover, and weight daily. Return cucumbers to
  container, add boiled syrup, cover, weight, and re-cover with towel.
  
  On the 14th day, drain syrup into saucepan. Fill sterile pint jars (for
  more information see "Jars and Lids") or clean quart jars, leaving 1/2-inch
  headspace. Add 1/2 cup sugar to syrup and bring to boil. Remove spice bag.
  Pour hot syrup over cucumbers, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and
  process according to the recommendations in Table 1 or use low-temperature
  pasteurization treatment. (For more information see "Low-Temperature
  Pasteurization Treatment".) Table 1. Recommended process time for 14-day
  Sweet Pickles in a boiling-water canner.
  
  Style of Pack: Raw.  Jar Size: Pints. Process Time at Altitudes of 0 -
  1,000 ft: 5 min.
                         1,001 - 6,000 ft: 10 min.
                           Above 6,000 ft: 15 min.
  
  Style of Pack: Raw.  Jar Size: Quarts. Process Time at Altitudes of 0 -
  1,000 ft: 10 min.
                         1,001 - 6,000 ft: 15 min.
                           Above 6,000 ft: 20 min.
  
  ======================================================= === * USDA
  Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539 (rev. 1994) * Meal-Master format
  courtesy of Karen Mintzias
  
  From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini
 
</step></directions></recipe></recipeml>
